Goodbye Mrs Parker
by Raisin Cookies
Summary: How will Don handle life as he juggles his new relationship with Det Angell, his family, the death of a loved one and foster child? I own nothing, apart from a lot of shoes!
1. Chapter 1

It was a fiercely cold, snowy day in New York with a bitter wind that cut to you skin like a knife. Six-year-old Charlotte Collins clambered out of the back seat of Mrs Parker's old grey Ford hatchback car, she was not suitably attired for such weather in her thin woollen tights, pink corduroy pinafore and t-bar shoes. She didn't own a jacket, Mrs Parker had fretted when she had realised this and had worried about her going out without one.

She waited patiently on the snowy sidewalk as Mrs Parker fetched her bag from the trunk, and as she did so Charlotte picked at a patch of silver masking tape that was currently being used to hold one of the back lights in place. It was obvious that the car had been through a lot in its life and the masking tape was just the tip of the iceberg, there was numerous bashes, dents and scrapes that peppered its exterior and yet Mrs Parker was reluctant to trade it in, she loved her car. Despite its appearance it had always managed to rev it engine with a powerful determination, sometimes it would struggle to get going but somehow it always managed. The interior was comfortable, the seats soft and squashy from too many bottoms, the heating and air-con still worked, the radio still played, and it always smelt of cinnamon and apples created by the same air freshener that dangled from the windscreen mirror. Yes, Mrs Parker loved that car, it reminded her of the countless children she had encountered in her 40 years working for the NYC Social Work Department. Bashed and broken and yet with a determined streak to survive. She looked down at Charlotte and held out her hand, smiling kindly at the young frightened child, she tugged gently on her hand and they made their way past the white picket fence and up the garden path, which meandered its way through the centre of the front lawn, and up to the white front door with its big brass knocker.

Mrs Parker used the knocker and knocked three times on the big wooden door, Charlotte pushed herself in close to Mrs Parkers leg as they waited and she looked down at her young charge, she could see that she was nervous and she squeezed her hand reassuringly. Only seconds had passed before the door opened and a smiling blond woman, who appeared to be in her late 50's, greeted them warmly.

"Melanie," she greeted Mrs Parker, "come on in, it's freezing out there".

Once they were safely inside and the door was shut soundly behind them the woman begin to address Charlotte, she squatted down in front of the child and smiled broadly. Charlotte liked her smile; it made the woman's eyes twinkle bright blue and lifted her whole face, exposing a deep dimple as it did so. Charlotte thought the woman was beautiful, her hair was pulled back into a loose bun and she worn jeans and a soft cream angora sweater dress. Charlotte thought she looked just like a movie star.

"Hi, my name is Ruth and you must be Charlotte, I've really been looking forward to meeting you".

Charlotte nodded shyly and toed the dark wooden floor of the hallway with her foot. Ruth rose to her feet again.

"Don? Honey, Melanie and Charlotte are here," she called out along the hall. The next thing a very tall man appeared from one of the rooms striding towards them with a cheerful grin on his face.

"Melanie, I do apologise, I didn't hear the door," he said as he greeted Mrs Parker.

"That's your age dear," Ruth quipped back with a smile, to which Don responded by sticking out his tongue at his wife. Ruth giggled.

"And this gorgeous young lady must be Charlotte," he said as he knelt down on the floor. Charlotte looked up at him, even kneeling on the ground he was still taller than she was, he looked nice as well. He had big bright blue eyes just like Ruth, a handsome face and grey hair.

Ruth and Don invited them into the kitchen for a cup of tea, milk for Charlotte, and cookies before Mrs Parker had to leave. The adults chatted the whole time but included Charlotte by gently trying to coax her to answer questions and join in. Soon the tea was drunk and it was time for Mrs Parker to leave, Charlotte began to get upset, she didn't want to be left with strangers again, even if they were nice.

"Please, why can't I stay with you?" She sobbed.

"Because you're going to stay with Ruth and Don," Mrs Parker told her firmly. "Now, be a good girl and no more tears".

She bid them farewell and told them she would be back tomorrow and left through the front door. Charlotte watched through the big bay window in the lounge as she drove away in her beat up Ford with the silver masking tape, her small hands pushing against the glass, her breath clouding the window and fat tears rolling down her cheeks as she sobbed noisily. Ruth was on her knees beside her, desperately trying to comfort her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Goodbye Mrs Parker**

**Chaper Two**

**_AN - I own nothing, apart from a lot of shoes! Not beta'd so all of the many mistakes are my own._**

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Danny watched from the car as the young girl tried to warm her icy fingers under her own armpits. She bounced lightly from her knees up, the high-heels that she wore where too high for her to move about with graceful ease. He had watched her as she moved slowly up the decaying sidewalk, she had learnt to walk slowly in her shoes, and the best way to hide not been able to walk in these shoes was to roll her hips, and turn what could have been a graceless stumble into an alluring wiggle. She removed her hands from under her arms and Danny watched as she attempted to tug down the bottom of her short lycra dress. He shook his head. She was a girl. A baby really. Someone's baby.

He thought about Lucy and what she would be doing right this very moment. He checked his watch, 12:19 am. She would be tucked up in bed, dreaming of sweet things like playing on the slide in the park; and sticking Jelly Tots into the tops of iced cupcakes that Lyndsay had baked. Her thumb would be firmly planted in her mouth; Ringo, her stuffed rabbit hugged tightly to her chest; and her soft golden curls, smelling of Johnson's baby shampoo, would be splayed out across her pillow.

He leant a little to the left as he reached into the back pocket of his jeans and fought to retrieve his wallet from his seated position in the car. He flipped it open and counted the notes. $150, all in small bills. He replaced the wallet and started the engine, the street was wide and relatively quiet. This was a part of town that most people avoided, especially at this time of night; the only movements were from the girls who wondered this part of town and the steady drip of men in cars. He slowly turned the car in the street and pulled up alongside the girl; flashing his headlights to ensure gaining her attention. She strutted forwarded, still tugging at the hem of her dress. He lowered the window on the passenger side of the door and the girl moved closer. She was new at this, Danny noted to himself, she was nervous.

She didn't speak, only stared.

"Hey Sweetheart, you looking for some company?" he asked. She nodded and forced a small smile. He smiled back and released the doorlock. She climbed in, awkwardly trying to keep her knees together in her outfit. Definitely new at this.

She pulled the door closed with a soft thud, her eyes flitting around the interior of the car.

"What's your name, honey?" he asked. She met his gaze.

"What d'ya wannit to be?" she responded. He raised his eyebrows at her. "Fee," she replied.

"Fee? As in Fiona?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied.

"Well Fee, as in Fiona, how much for the night?"

"The night?" She looked up in surprise.

"The night," he repeated firmly.

"100 bucks," she replied.

"Fine. Why don'tcha get your seatbelt on?"

Fee pulled the seatbelt across her thin body and pressed it in place with a sharp click, as Danny moved the car off down the street and away from the red-light district. Inside the car they were both silent as Danny manoeuvred the car through the streets of New York.

"Where are we going?" Fee finally asked.

"A hotel," Danny replied. He glanced over at her as she gazed out of the passenger window. Her head was turned slightly, and he took in her profile, studying her delicate features for the first time. Her soft brown curls framed her baby face, big watery pale blue eyes, long dark eyelashes, her button nose which eventually sloped down to meet her plump rosy pink lips. She was beautiful. Who was it that was missing this pretty young girl? She didn't seem rough, or trouble. She wasn't on drugs, Danny could recognise that, she didn't need to turn tricks to pay for a heroin habit.

She shivered, her body chilled from standing in the cold for too long a time in too little clothing. Danny leant over and bumped up the heating, blasting out toasty hot air on her feet to try and warm her. They arrived at the hotel 10 minutes later, and Danny pulled the car into a space in the hotel car park and turned off the engine. Fee looked up at him, but he avoided her gaze and let himself out of the car. She following, stepping onto the forecourt, she walk around to the front of the car where Danny was waiting, he placed a hand on her lower back and steered her towards the entrance to the hotel.

The foyer of the hotel was warm and plush, she suddenly felt very self-conscious, luckily it was quiet due to the late, or was it early, hour. Comfortable, overstuffed couches and armchairs were scattered around the reception, along with various tables upon which sat large vases of fresh flowers and the usual tourist leaflets, in varying languages, which told people of all the most popular tourist attractions in the city. They stopped in front of the elevator and the man pushed the button, it was then she realised that she didn't know his name. Oh well, she thought, he doesn't know mine either, not really.

They stepped into the elevator and the doors slid shut behind them, the compartment jerked beneath their feet as it moved up through the floors and then shuddered again as it stopped on the 4th. Danny's hand never left her back, he guided her out and into the hallway, along to the end and then turned right. Room 415. Fee didn't move, she just stood there, rooted to the spot, like an uninvited guest hovering on the fringes of a party. In the room Danny locked his wallet and keys in the safe, when he turned back he was surprised to see she had now removed her dress. She stood before him, apprehensively, wearing only her underwear and those high healed shoes. Ready to earn $100.

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